Let’s get this out of the way first, we, as humans, are incredibly complex, diverse, and above all else weird. This is why something like the Atkin’s Diet will work great for Bobby Joe, but will cause Johnny Ballgame to binge three days into the same diet. What about the fad of liquid diets? Low Fat, high carb, moderate protein? High Fat, high protein, low carbohydrate? No carbs (i.e. Anabolic Diet)? Fasting? Straight up calorie restriction is fine too, as long as you make sure you get in adequate protein and carbohydrates to complement you training. But since many people like to follow a designed program or a set of guidelines I will help you decide if one of these diets are right for you.

(It is getting harder and harder for people to succeed when the read books like this)

All of these diets work when done as directed, but depending on the kind of person you are, you might be setting yourself up for failure. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before you decided what route to go.

1. List your three favorite foods, do more than 50% of their calories come from carbohydrates?
2. Do you like/have to train HARD?  By “HARD,” I mean you go heavy, you go hard, you do death circuits at the end of training, do heavy singles, sometimes need to lay down and catch your breath because you are training so hard.
3. Do you have control over 90% of the food you eat? For example, do you do your own grocery shopping, food prep, and cooking for yourself? Do you cook one meal for your family and need to make, “something the kids will eat,” and can’t make something separate for yourself?

If you answered yes to 1-2 of these questions, commercial diets with a specific name will be difficult. Answering yes to all three will make it impossible and you are just setting yourself up for failure and nights of binging. In your case, it may make more sense to start with a 500 calorie deficit/day and go from there. We all know what foods are considered healthy. Think lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, some nuts, etc.

Modifying your diet is a major event, and it should not be taken lightly. That is why all of those people who say, “Oh yeah, I know I need to lost 10 pounds, I am going to start this diet I saw in [insert magazine of your choice]. It worked great for [insert celebrity],” fail each and every time. There is no planning or accountability involved (more on accountability later).

Click here to view the embedded video.

(poor Fat Bastard, “I can’t stop eating. I eat because I’m unhappy, and I’m unhappy because I eat. It’s a vicious cycle.”)

This doesn’t mean you can not follow these diets (most of which are low-carb), just be conscious that you will need to support your training style with proper workout nutrition and get as much rest as you can. Try to shoot for 8 hours of sleep per night like it is your job. Even I have made some sacrifices so I can get the appropriate sleep in.

If you want my two-cents on how to approach dieting, I would send you to Leigh Peele and her two books The Fat Loss Troubleshoot and Body By Eats. The Fat Loss Troubleshoot has multiple plans of attack when it comes to dieting based on your personality and how fast you need to lose the weight.

What to hear something original? I am going to do a random thoughts post on a Friday. Can you believe it? Now hold on to your butts while we light this candle.

1. Here are a few sites you should be checking out on a regular basis. They have tons of great content and some even have a little humor as well to brighten your day.

• Mike Boyle’s Blog (Mike is always reading new stuff and writing about it. He just had a great post about goals recently, I recommend you check it out if you have a hard time with completing tasks and reaching your potential.
• LeighPeele.com (Since Leigh and I are sleeping together I guess I should give her a plug as well. Her recent post on body fat was pretty bad ass. Check it out)
• RobertsonTrainingSystem.com (Another Mike. He had a great post on Young Coaches the other day. A must read for anyone who wants to get into this industry. I kept my mouth shut for about 4 years while learning from the best and brightest in the industry before I was even able to have my own opinions and not just steal from others.)

Yeah, I left some people out, that is just what caught my eye this week.

2. Get Your Sh*T Together and Have a Plan

Do you have a plan? We only have a few months left until beach season, are you 8 weeks to being beach ready? No? Then write out a gameplan and stick to it. Don’t want to do that? Let someone else do it like with Leigh Peele’s Body By Eats or Bodyfat Troubleshoot. You can even drop $15 on a book that will get your ass into gear. Check out Tom Venuto’s “The Body Fat Solution” if you want to go the Amazon route.

3. Laugh Your Ass Off Sometimes

I think that we work TOO HARD sometimes and never take a second and relax. That is why I am going to post the following video for your enjoyment:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I laugh every…single…time.

4. Bioshock 2 is Fantastic

Yep, I am talking about a video game. When I have a few spare hours on the weekend I like to get in some gaming. To be honest I am just as passionate about video games as I am about the fitness and nutrition world. Does that make me a nerd? Yeah, sure. But I am sure some of you are just as into fishing, or gardening, or American Idol, or cars. I like video games and the video game industry.

This week I want to talk about Bioshock 2, the follow up to one of the best games (if not the best) of 2007. The sequel is not being made by the original developers (2K Boston/Irrational Games), but instead 2K Marin. This was cause for concern when gamers first heard about this, especially when the first game seemed like it didn’t need a follow up. I consider myself an ADD gamer and can only play for 30-60 minutes at a time before checking e-mail or watching a movie instead, but I was hooked! It took just about 9 or 10 hours to finish. Bioshock 2 delivered in every way including the story, the gameplay, and the fantastic soundtrack. If you were a fan of the first I highly recommend you check this one out. Next week I will talk about my favorite dead console, the Sega Dreamcast…

That is all for this week! Thanks for stopping by and checking out the random Friday content!